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"Pilot"
Series 0, Episode 0
Pilot

The original cast of the Pilot.

Broadcast date 18 February 2008
Written by Toby Whithouse
Directed by Declan O'Dwyer
Cast
Guest Cast
Episode chronology
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"Flotsam and Jetsam"

Synopsis: Two twenty-somethings, George (a werewolf) and Mitchell (a vampire), move into a flatshare only to discover that their new home is haunted by Annie, the ghost of a previous tenant.

Summary[]

Vampire Mitchell has a date with the nurse Lauren. He stays the night at her house, while werewolf George transforms outside in the forest since it is the night of the full moon. Mitchell has sex with Lauren and drinks her blood then to save her he gives Lauren his blood. However, he does not know if he is too late to turn her into a vampire, because she might already be dead. So Mitchell leaves it to Seth and Herrick to take care of Lauren.

The next morning Mitchell wakes up George and they go to work together at St. Jude's Hospital. Mitchell now really feels the need to move into a flat with George. He hopes that George prevents him from killing and drinking blood. They soon find a flat that they both like, but when they move in they discover that the ghost Annie is already living inside the house. Annie is totally excited when she realizes that Mitchell and George, as supernatural creatures, can see her. She was invisible to humans for over a year and had no one to speak to. Mitchell also really likes Annie, but George doesn't want a ghost living in his and Mitchell's house. He wants his life to be as normal as possible. A ghost in the house does not fit into this at all. However, Mitchell convinces George to let Annie stay.

In the hospital George meets his old fiancee Julia Beckett. He had left her after he was infected with the werewolf curse, without saying a word. Julia has thought he was dead. Even though Julia is engaged to a new man (Peter), George and Julia realize that they are still in love with each other. Because Julia wants to speak to George, she locks herself and George into the celler of the St. Jude's Hospital. However, it is the night of the full moon and George is going to transform into a werewolf. He calls Mitchell, but Annie answers the telephone. She manages to save Julia and realizes that now she can also be seen by non-supernatural creatures like Julia (a human). Annie thinks that being seen and recognized by Mitchell and George made her real to normal people as well (But now just being recognized by someone, being liked and known. Looks like that's what makes you real).

Meanwhile Herrick tries to reorganize the whole vampire community. He wants the vampires to rule the world.

After Julia has heard of Geroge's werewolf curse, she decides to leave him. She tells George that she is not strong enough for this.

Mitchell, Annie and George get used to living together as a supernatural trinity and enjoy an evening at a restaurant. Suddenly Mitchell hears a silent whisper. He goes out of the restaurant and finally sees Lauren again. She has become a vampire and changed completely. She isn't a young innocent girl anymore, but a ruthless vampire who's old friends and family are only prey to her. Herrick and Seth take care of her and tell Mitchell to choose his friends carefully, since the world is going to change...


Crew[]

Production[]

Commissioning[]

The pilot episode was broadcast at 9pm on 18 February 2008 as part of the re-branding of BBC Three along with several other pilots (including West 10 LDN). Danny Cohen, the controller of BBC Three, had stated that a full series from either one or two of these pilots would be produced; the other to be commissioned was Phoo Action,[1] a decision which was later reversed.[2]

An online petition lobbying BBC Three commissioning editors to greenlight a full series was set up by a journalist from the Reading Chronicle newspaper as part of a review of the show.[3] The article and petition drew traffic from across the world and with the latter now having been signed by over 3,000 people.[4]

Changes for the Series[]

Change of the actors of the following characters
Annie Sawyer John Mitchell William Herrick Lauren Drake
Pilot Characters
MitchellPilot29a
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HerrickPilot4
Lauren Pilot2
Episode 1x01 -
Annie
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Herrick
Lauren


Several cast changes have been made for the series, although Russell Tovey returned as George. Mitchell, originally portrayed by Guy Flanagan, is played by Aidan Turner, and Annie is now portrayed by Lenora Crichlow rather than Andrea Riseborough. Jason Watkins replaced Adrian Lester as a "more down-to-earth" version of Herrick.[5] The character of Lauren also returned in the full series, with Annabel Scholey taking on the role from Dominique McElligot.[6]

Producer Matthew Bouch has described the series as "less gothic and slightly more rooted" and "a bit funnier". Bouch has described the series as "kind of a reboot" of the narrative in the pilot.[7] Nevertheless, writer Toby Whithouse said in an interview that he does consider the pilot canon[8].

Music[]

  • Chasing Cars, by Snow Patrol - playing when Mitchell is dating human Lauren and she tells him that Neeru has warned her about Mitchell.
  • Rehab, by Amy Winehouse - playing when George wakes up after a fullmoon night
  • Delivery, by Babyshambles - playing when Mitchell first goes to the St. Jude's Hospital
  • Common People, by Pulp - playing when George and Mitchell move into the house
  • Smack My Bitch Up, by The Prodigy
  • Ruby, by Kaiser Chiefs
  • Car Park Confrontation, by Sam Watts

Quotes[]

Lauren to Mitchell: You intrigue us. You don't use lines. You talk about ancient machinery. You do conjuring tricks. Your eyes, they're sad even when you laugh. When you look at me, it's heavy. It's old.

Mitchell (after a fullmoon night): Does it hurt?
George: Curses are ment to hurt.

Cathy: The back of the house doesn't get much sunlight.
Mitchell: I'm not mad on sunlight.

George (about Cathy): How can she think we are gay?
Mitchell: Yeah – I am way out of your league.

Annie: Last Night George asked me about death. He'd asked me what I saw.
Mitchell: What did you tell him?
Annie: He is religious, isn't he. I mean he has a faith.
Mitchell: Yeah, he is jewish.
Annie: I said it was a good place. I said it was like in films. (...) You have seen it too though? Haven't you? Death! You have seen the corridor with the man at the end with the sticks and rope.
Mitchell: You did the right thing. He doesn't need to know that. None of them do.

Annie: Normal people can't see me.
George: I'm normal!"
Annie: Sorry, by normal, I don't mean those who turn into the littlest hobo once a month.

Mitchell: Why are you here?
Annie: Told you, I like it here.
Mitchell: I mean generally, why are you here?
Annie: I don't know.

George: You're lucky this isn't tomorrow.
Peter: Yeah, what happens then?
George: Monsters come out.

George: Okay you win 10 Million pounds what do you do?
Annie: Buy Colin Firth.

Mitchell: Listen, you have got to remember what your were, your friends and family, what they still are.
Lauren: They are prey.

Herrick (to Mitchell): Everything is about to change. It's just nature, like tectonic plates moving, shifting and it all begins here, now. You need to decide who your friends are.

Character Gallery[]

References[]

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